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Recordings/Samples and Videos

This page contains (or links to) audio, samples, and video of music featuring the Chroma. Please send me files or other related information and I'll include it here.

Performances

Analog Bach – Baroque Synthesizer

Two excellent performances by Marco Rosano [21010197], and links to the iTunes store to buy the whole album.

Theo Bloderer

Via Leon van der Sangen [21010301]. (Some of these sounds were already available at Amazona.de.)

David Hobson [21030506] New

See David's YouTube channel for a number of compositions featuring the Chroma.

Olli [21010284]

Via Leon van der Sangen [21010301]. Theo Bloderer, who provided these files to Leon, writes, "I personally think [Olli] is not in synthesizer music any more, but since I haven't heard anything from OH since 10 years, I don't have any detailed information." [September 2012] I heard from Olli who confirms he'll soon be selling his Chroma. [November 2012]

Synthesizer von Gestern

A couple of great tracks provided by Matthias Becker.

Synthesizer Magazin

Four demos by Moogulator.

Chris Smalt [21010280+]

"In June 1999 I rerecorded an old tune of mine from 1986 using just the Chroma. What you hear is 13 tracks of Chroma, all mono, no chorus, just reverb and some delay added. Some rhythm provided by rubbing hands, snapping fingers and tapping the mic stand with my foot. The sounds are a mix of factory presets and custom patches. The track was originally published in 1999 on a 7-CD compilation called 'Bohemian R.A.P. CD', that included tracks recorded by various contributors to the rec.audio.pro usenet group." [September 2008]

1984 Musicom Trade Show

Chris Smalt [21010280+] writes, "In my archives I have a cassette tape of a Chroma demo on Nov 10, 1984 at the Musicom trade show in the Rotterdam Hilton. I don't remember the name of the slightly wacky Brit, but it must have been Peter John Vettese. I was in the audience with a handheld mic and a Sony Walkman. It's almost 20 minutes of non-stop live playing two Chromas and a Polaris (and briefly a Rhodes [piano]), straight into the PA, no effects, no sequencing. Some of the occasional distortion is because I wasn't always watching the levels, but he also overloaded the mixer at times. It was a very different demo from the others at that event (Fairlight, PPG, etc), because at a time when everyone was looking to sound digital and sequenced, here was someone improvising live, just hopping through some presets, retuning the instrument by ear, using a musical idiom and sounds that weren't hip at all. What he showed off in particular was the flexibility of the Chroma when played live, using hands - and feet! For most of the demo, he was actually balancing with both feet on two volume-type pedals, which, besides for volume, he used for a variety of parameters." [September 2008]

Normay Fay

Writing on Analogue Heaven in August 2007: "Tony Allgood of Oakley Synthesisers serviced my Rhodes Chroma and did some fairly major work (incl the power supply replacement as detailed on www.till.com, with mods to work on UK power). It is awesome to have the Chroma running on 8 voices, to have the parameter slider working, and to have the instrument running in almost eerie silence with no buzz & hum from the power supply. I'm sure the thing sounds a bit cleaner as well. I threw this together in like 1hr, using Cubase, SIR reverb and digitalfishphones 'blockfish' compressor. There is probably too much reverb on it, sorry! All of the sounds are derived from the Chroma, I think there's 10 layers altogether, though not all at once. One of the layers was sequenced using 'zeit', the rest played in by hand. It's just a faff about, really."

Michael Dykehouse

The Genuinely Humble Nature Of My Genius (SoundCloud.com): see New Chroma Composition using Set/Split 38.

Christian Kleine [21030210]

Illusion — see New album - Chroma related.

analogholic

Several good demos at soundcloud.com.

Danny Wolfers [21030921], Legowelt Studio

Scroll down the page for a photo, writeup, and mp3 of the Chroma.

Samples

Native Instruments

The Chroma is included in their Retro Machines MK2 package for USD$79.00.

Kineticsoundprism

A sample library for Kontakt is available with 202 patches with 61 individual note samples per patch. £27. Here's a demo:

See also Part 2, as well as Patches Demo Part 1 and Part 2.

Videos

Herbie Hancock jams with his Fairlight CMI (and Chroma)

See discussion Herbie Hancock jams along to a Fairlight with his Rhodes Chroma, December 2006.

Tom Hughes [21030251+]

See Rhodes Chroma video on YouTube, April 2009.

Patrik Gudmundsäter [21010240]

Stefan Kraft [21010195]

"I just finished my first album 'This is 1983' of my 80s project 'Risk Risk'. I used my Chroma, a Prodigy and a JX3p and analogue drumboxes. I also used the Chroma in the music video." [June 2011]

Rockets - Future Game (1982)

See discussion rockets and chroma, March 2007; and Rhodes Chroma Spotted, March 2008.

Saved By Zero - Grote Prijs van Nederland 1985

Johan Looijenga writes, "I used to own a Rhodes Chroma (see picture). I have recently found an old VHS video from our band while I was playing the Chroma. It demonstrates how fat the Chroma sounds. In the video I play a S&H patch, noise patch with opening up the filter with the data slider, fat string type sound including glide which I filter down during the introduction of the players. The video is a little bit old but still you now and then can spot me playing the Chroma." [June 2007]

Polaris

"I've realized a small video of my Polaris." Guido Scognamiglio [100047] [October 2007]